“A champion team will always beat a team of champions”

You could make a case that the 2021 iteration of the Melbourne Demons has both sides of the coin covered. 
 

That said, historically every premiership side has role players who shine just a bit more brightly on grand final day, play above expectations and write themselves into club folklore.  Think Shane Ellen in 1997,  Mitch Morton in 2012 or even our very own Steve Armstrong in 2006. 

Should we win the cup, the Norm Smith medal will likely be around the neck of messrs Oliver, Petracca or Gawn… But on GF day which of our lesser lights do you think could step up and place themselves into MFC royalty?
 

My 2 cents

Luke Jackson - a quiet prelim final, but we know he has the talent and the X-factor. Could he be our Tom Boyd mkII?

Tom Sparrow - just love the ferociousness and appetite he brings to the contest, could see him kicking a late clutch goal like Arma did in 2006

Who do you think has the potential take this mantle for us in 9 days time?

 

Neal-Bullen has been the unsung hero of the final series.

If we win, Jake Lever and Christian Salem will have the biggest game of their lives imo.

T.Mac heart and soul of the club will have a big game.

Charlie Spargo 💪🏽

I expect Harmes will get some sort of shutdown role,  do it very well but still get plenty of ball himself.

Burgo

Kosi.

Would love for Brown to kick a bag.

Nibbler. Consistently brings the effort and has had a few very good games late this year. Reckon he’ll play his role and kick 2-3 goals. 

Ed Langdon for mine. 

1 hour ago, MurDoc516 said:

Neal-Bullen has been the unsung hero of the final series.

If we win, Jake Lever and Christian Salem will have the biggest game of their lives imo.

Wouldn’t put him in the unsung category, but Lever ought to be a shot at Norm Smith - depends on who does the votes 

 

24 minutes ago, Bombay Airconditioning said:

Kosi.

x1000. I would love this 

 

16 minutes ago, WalkingCivilWar said:

Ed Langdon for mine. 

Spot on. He’ll put in a huge shift. I can see his “highlight moment” being a chase-down covering tackle/pressure act in defence, when everyone else is cooked and out of legs  

I’ve heard that Carlton wished Stephen Kernahan was unsung after the ‘87 grand final.

Can see Luke Jackson having a huge game, with the bulldogs to focused on max

Hibberd. To me, the dogs can do two things that really scare me.

1. Beat us in the midfield. If that happens, then fair play to them..
2. Kick too many goals from ground level balls in our backline.

Hibberd's ability to desperately scrag and smother and fight to get those rushed behinds could save 10-15 points in this match, and add in any rebound we get from him we could be looking at the difference between winning and losing.

If we win, Viney will win the Norm Smith.

If The unthinkable happens, Macrae will win it.

 

Unsung hero. Must be a "no name"

Us - Trent Rivers

Them - Bailey Dale. (ok, A.A but who has heard of him outside the Bulldogs?)

 

 

All 22 and the med sub if they played

Petty for mine. I think he takes and flogs naughton, allowing may and Lever to intercept everything keeping the dogs to under 60 points.

My moment is Bowey to kick his first goal and the sealer, then get crushed in the man love that follows 

Edited September 16, 20213 yr by Rocknroll

Spargs for me. Look for him go have 4-5 direct goal assists and kick 1 or 2 himself.

 

 

And still not smile.

Spargo.

He is the coolest kid.  Rarely gets overly excited with a goal and he has kicked some beauties.  Rarely makes mistakes.  Lowers his eyes and finds teammates.

He is the off-broadway kid.  Not as flashy as most around him but equally important.

 

Harrison Petty.

I think Benny Brown might cement himself in Demon folklore with a 4-5 goal day out.

 

If we continue to get the elevated intensity we've gotten from Fritsch, Langdon, Brayshaw and McDonald next weekend it will be a huge help in dragging us to the line. Have really noticed all 4 in the first 2 finals showing really good pressure and contests and i think it's going to take a whole of team pressure game to win it. If we manage to climb the mountain then I'm betting these guys will have played a huge role on the day.

McDonald and Brown will be key in their performance in terms of bringing the ball to ground. Don't expect a lot of F50 marks next week...but it is key that we don't concede D50 marks.

Spago is going to kick 3

Trent Rivers to keep Weightman to zero free kicks.